Sandhi

I’ve been a fan of Sandhi and Domaine de la Cote wines for some time. When I had the opportunity to visit Lompoc for a friend’s wedding, I jumped on the chance to sign up for the vineyard tour and tasting. I had a truly wonderful experience. My experience began with a vineyard tour with Adam, the hospitality manager at Sandhi. After parking at the Lompoc tasting room, I was driven to the vineyards in the Santa Rita Hills nearby. I was lucky enough to be only participant in the tour, so I had a completely private experience! Adam was extremely knowledgeable and graciously answered all of my questions about the wines, history of Sandhi, the terroir, and the viticulture practices. It was especially interesting for me to hear personal stories about harvest, his daughter’s experiences in the vineyard, and his background. Because I had a one-on-one experience, he also adjusted the schedule to my interests, which was much appreciated. After viewing the La Cote, Memorious, and Romance vineyards, we returned to the tasting room for a flight of wines across the Sandhi lineup. I had 6 total, one of which was a gracious extra pour. My flight included White Buffalo Land Trust Pinot Noir, 2021 Sanford and Benedict Pinot Noir, 2021 Romance Pinot Noir, Domaine de la Cote 2023 DDLC, 2022 Riconada Vineyard Chardonnay, 2021 Romance Chardonnay. After my flight I was given the opportunity to purchase any of the wines in the flight. A great experience overall and more than worth the price. Being able to see the vineyards, the stunning landscape, feel the winds sweeping in from the ocean, and learn more about the place where the wines I love come from was an absolute treat!

What a gem of a visit in Lompoc! My wife and I visited Sandhi winery by referral from Domaine de la Cote. DDLC has been one of our favorite wines worldwide - it is on par with the best of Burgundian style Pinot Noirs in the New World (think Littorai, Kosta Browne or Williams Selyem of Sonoma) and holds it own against the actual Grand Cru Burgundy wines. Little did we expect that the visit / tasting experience was exceptional on a world class level. Don't let the humble setting fool you - it is located in an industrial park of Lompoc - not a fancy vineyard. For us and visits to wineries, what is in the wine glass for tasting comprises 80% of our assessment of the experience, and the tour and new knowledge imparted to us comprises the remaining 20%. Both exceeded expectations by far! Our guide, Adam, was incredible - welcoming, knowledgeable and the perfect host. I surmise due to our history of buying DDLC, Adam set up the perfect line up of wines to taste and also introduced us to the Sandhi wines (first time for us). Do not be shy about asking Sandhi in advance whether they have select wines you would like to sample - they will try and accommodate within reason. For this specific experience - especially if you are focused on the higher end DDLC wines, do your homework (as in tasting and sampling wide variety of Pinots) in advance of top end Burgundian style New World Pinot Noirs as well as premier cru and grand cru Burgundy wines. Watch SOMM3 on Netflix to get more background on Pinot (and DDLC) and then let Adam and the crew at Sandhi do the rest. They will not disappoint! Great job Sandhi / DDLC team!!

We planned our trip around the visit of Sandhi winery, as this was in our bucket list (we've been enjoying Sandhi wines for some time now). We booked the Vineyard/Winery/Tasting room one. We were greeted by Adam, our host that day. He did a fantastic job of welcoming us with some bubblies, driving us around through the key vineyards of their plantings, telling us the history behind the winery, then tasting some beautiful Chards (still maturing) in the winery and finally finishing the tour by drinking some incredible wines at their tasting room (which features some old iconic bottles that they drank). The highlight for me was to appreciate these unique vineyards, the terroir and the climate of that part of Santa Rita Hills. At the tasting, all their wines were absolutely delicious and so well-crafted, and there was a bonus of a Domaine de la Cote Pinot (their other winery), which was amazing, never had that one before and it blew my mind. Rajat makes some amazing wines in this part of the world and he is in the forefront of American winemaking, expressing the beautiful terroir of California.

Adam is a rockstar! I have visited this room three times, and I will return on my next trip to the valley. Adam's wine knowledge and gift of conversation always make a visit here the highlight of the trip! I recommend it to all my friends who plan to travel to the area. If you are a wine lover of this region and in the area, this is a must-stop; just be ready to be amazed!

I stopped in around lunchtime during the week and had a great tasting and conversation with Jonathan at the bar! I noted my love of Syrah and he provided two for me to try, as well as a nice Sparkling Pinot Noir. They were all so enjoyable that I had to ship a few home. After the tasting, I enjoyed a fresh made cappuccino and stuck around to chat and get some recommendations for other wineries to try. Highly recommend a stop at Sandhi!

Our recent tasting at Sandhi/DDLC with Adam was one of the highlights of our wine tasting trip to the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. For our group, the most memorable part was getting out into the vineyards firsthand. I love that you can drive out to the vineyards in less than 10 minutes to see where the magic happens. I’m not sure if this is a typical part of a tasting experience at Sandhi, but for us it truly differentiated this tasting from others we had during our trip. Such a cool experience to drive out and have the valley open up below you as you crest a hill. The wines are great (and included a Domaine de la Cote pour), and I loved how Adam curated the tasting to match our preferred tasting experience. If you are heading up to the Sta. Rita Hills area, you should definitely include a trip to Sandhi and the other wineries in the Lompoc area as they are well worth a visit!

An incredible tasting experience with Neil! He truly made the visit memorable, beyond the excellent wines themselves. A must-visit in Santa Barbara wine country. The espresso before we left was a thoughtful and much appreciated touch.

The vineyard tour and wine tasting at Sandhi is terrific. Visiting Sandhi's vineyards gave a better appreciation for the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. Seeing the elevation differences and the siting (hillsides vs. bottom land) of Sandhi and other vineyards brings a better understanding to the region's wines and potential. The aged 14-year-old Pinot at the tasting proved your wines can last.

Little tasting room in Lompoc that has much more to offer than the pinots they're well known for. Jonathan was amazing and super knowledgeable, making our experience that much more enjoyable. Highly recommend for the wine appreciators out there.

Incredible find in the SYV. We got a recommendation from the folks over at Pence for a second place to try. Did not disappoint. The website said they were closed, but the reservation when through. The hospitality manager contacted us and explained the mix up. A half of an hour later we were given a personalized tour of the facilities and the vineyard. Afterwards back at the tasting room, we had an extended tasting, well worth it. Exceptionally good local Pinots and white varietals. Each pour came with a lesson and a story about the grapes, the growers, and the wine makers. Would totally recommend, especially if you are willing to learn about wine.

Lily our server was amazing! An intimate table was set up and waiting for us as we had made a reservation. Super personal and very informative without being stuffy!. Tasty wines both on and off menu! $25 tasting fee was also reasonable.

Amazing wines, atmosphere was perfect. Knowledgeable host. The only place my friends and I would recommend from the 3 we visited in the wine ghetto

Had a wonderful Sandhi Chardonnay in NYC, so I had to learn more about the wines when visiting SB. My partner and I did the tasting for $50/person on a weekday. We were the only ones there, and Sam, the somm, was extremely friendly and very patient with all our questions. We learned a lot and had a wonderful time. Tasting: 2014 Blanc de Blanc 2019 Sanford and Benedict Chardonnay 2020 Patterson Chardonnay 2019 Sanford and Benedict Pinot Noir 2019 Bien Nacido Syrah 2019 Rim Rock Syrah Piedrasassi Vin Santo The blanc de blanc, pinot noir, and vin santo were delicious and memorable.

Sam. That's all I have to say. Intelligent, friendly, very well informed. Easily one of the best tastings I've ever had.

I ordered a shipment of wine as a gift to a friend for her birthday. It was nearly $500 which was fine, but a nearly a year later noticed the shipment was on a continuum! I did not sign up for a membership or a continuous shipment of wine. My friend did not contact me, and $1500 later, I noticed an email stating that the wine would be shipping again. I was refunded the latest $500 order, as they were able to return the order. Very disappointing! I feel scammed. Pay attention to your order! Will never use this service again!

As mentioned before, Raj Parr is the man that made me believe i like white wine. His other project Domaine de la Cote has many of the qualities which make an homage to Burgundy. Though Sandhi goes in some similar directions, theyre also more experimental in their vineyards. The old properties of Evening Land which originally involved Raj's mentor Larry Stone, is now getting taken over by Sandhi. Id tried these wines a while back that Raj poured and then recently i ran into an importer in Sweden that also knew Raj as he imports California wine. At his bar i re-acquainted myself with the Evening Land vineyards pinot noir. A very enjoyable wine at sits alone or pairs well with food. As a lover of Burgundy too, this is a good way to get its essence but not break the bank.

Following our friends through the wine region from Paso Robles to Lompoc. They had heard of Sandhi, tried it and wanted to do the tasting. This proved to be one of our best testing over two days. The wine maker John, who joined Sandhi two years ago, explained the history of the winery, with Raj Parr and Sashi Moorman. This was one of the most informative tastings we've ever had. We thoroughly loved this event as John presented to just the four of us. On top of this, these were FANTASTIC wines.